The conference aims to explore the current conceptualizations of Europe and Europeanness and their expressions in a variety of discourses in/of/about Europe: national vs. international, institutionalized, media, as well as local/individual discourses of citizens. The conference aims to explore the current conceptualizations of Europe and Europeanness and their expressions in a variety of discourses in/of/about Europe: national vs. international, institutionalized, media, as well as local/individual discourses of citizens. The goal of the conference is to provide an international forum for discussion along the following lines:

- ‘Europeanness’ in national discourses of the modern Europe: issues of regional, national and international identity; defining and redefining identity over time; evolution of European identity in the face of national and international developments; evolution of European mind-set within/across different cultural contexts and historical backgrounds

- Locality and globality in the discourse of the Euroland: defining locality and globality in economic, cultural and political terms; factors/criteria determining perception of Europe’s center and periphery; individual and local freedoms in the context of international relations and institutions; homogeneity and heterogeneity of European cultural legacy as factors affecting the sense of socio-cultural belonging at local/global levels; construction of values as (negotiated) indicators of belonging at the national vs. EU level

- Discourses of Europe in ‘old’ and ‘new’ member countries of the EU: construals of the EU and its current members in countries differing with regard to the length of EU membership; highlighting vs. downplaying differences (demographic, social, cultural, political, axiological) between ‘old’ and ‘new’ members; cross-border relations between ‘old’ and ‘new’ member countries; regional partnership programs as potential assimilation triggers

- Exclusionary and inclusionary discourses of Europe; constructions of ‘US’ and ‘THEM’ in political/public discourse: defining the US vs. THEM divide/dichotomy/opposition from synchronic and diachronic perspectives; evolution of ‘contents’ of ‘US/THEM containers’ over time; issues of conceptual proximity and distance to/from the European ‘US/THEM’ expressed in current discourses in/about Ukraine, Greece, Turkey and the UK

- Issues of race, immigration, and xenophobia in European national discourses: construals of tolerance and rejection; discourse legitimation of ethnic, cultural, religious, etc. disparities; interculturality and cultural plurality as determinants of public policies at national and international levels; social assimilation/dissimilation of economic migrants; rise of socio-political enclaves; public policies fostering/resisting influx of minority groups